It’s January and I don’t know about you but one of my (many) resolutions is to spend less money. I want to save that cash like I’m going to do something non-reckless and non-wild with it, instead of my usual budget planning which involves looking at my bank account balance and shrugging. To help me (and hopefully you), we’re bringing back a new and (hopefully) more useful version of our old Free Things To Do in D.C. guide.
Below, we’ve picked 5 free things happening everyday this week. From music to movies to literature to art, you deserve nothing but the best.
Monday – January 13
- The Washington Psychotronic Film Society is screening the classic D.C. film D.C. Cab at Smoke & Barrel.
- Have some questions about Burning Man? Want to know if you could hack it in Black Rock City? Check out GlowHouse’s Burning Man for Beginners.
- Author Olaf Olafsson talks about his new psychological thriller The Sacrament with the Ambassador of Iceland at Politics & Prose. Fun fact: apparently he also worked at Sony and helped create the PlayStation?
- Sip on a cocktail and jam out to the Pinegrove album “Marigold” at Songbyrd five days before it’s released.
- Broaden your mind and your horizons at Rhizome’s Death Cafe.
Tuesday – January 14
- Hear stories from the neighborhood at NoMa Business District’s Nerds in NoMa event. Swing by for free stories, free beer and free wine.
- Hit up a National Gallery of Art talk about art and architecture featuring painter Frank Stella and Cornell Tech.
- Clear your mind (and then check out some art) at the National Museum of Asian Art.
- Spacylounge hosts a potluck / open mic / hang out session called Delicious Democracy! Bring something good to eat.
- Learn about the historical context behind whistleblowing at the Library of Congress.
Wednesday – January 15
- H Street’s Mehari Sequar Gallery is hosting a reception for their exhibition The Heart We Left Behind: Children of the 1944 Estonian Diaspora. The ambassador of Estonia will be there.
- City Paper is hosting a celebration for their Fiction Issue. Go hear from the winning writers!
- Dance it out with Mint Green and Baby Grill at Songbyrd.
- Or sing it out to karaoke at Slash Run.
- Or write it out at Split This Rock‘s free writing workshop. This is the year you write a book. It doesn’t have to be a good book, it just has to be a book.
Thursday – January 16
- They’re opening the shades in the Peacock Room, one of the most beautiful places in D.C.
- Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden is in conversation with Jason Reynolds, the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, at the Library of Congress.
- The Embassy of Colombia is bringing in a string quartet to play some tunes by Shakira, Juanes, Maluma, Beethoven and Bach.
- Law professor / criminal defense attorney Abbe Smith talks about her book Guilty People at Solid State Books.
- Catch the equal parts funny and sad movie I Am A Monk at the Embassy of Japan.
Friday – January 17
- Singer Alicia Hall Moran takes over the National Portrait Gallery for her tribute to civil rights icon / performer Marian Anderson.
- Drink a beer and enjoy some very free and very live opera at the Wonderland Ballroom.
- GW Professor Daniel Goldmark hosts a free lecture on how scoring and sound design are used to evoke nostalgia in animated movies at the Corcoran.
- Hawthorne is celebrating their 4th anniversary with a free open bar?!
- Head back to Spacylounge for see Rest Ashore, OPPO and A Measured Response. There is a $5 suggested donation, if you can swing it.
Saturday – January 18
- We’re incredibly excited for the opening reception of Farrah Skeiky’s Present Tense exhibition at Transformer. This is going to rule.
- G ∆ Y / B ∆ S H is hosting another goth night at TRADE and we’re never not into it.
- Or you can dance to Browz & Schwander, Ozzy Silva and Jericho at U Street Music Hall.
- Author Theodore Greene talks about his book Not In My Gayborhood: Gay Neighborhoods and the Rise of the Vicarious Citizen at the Anacostia Community Museum.
- The National Gallery of Art is screening Case #1, Case #2 and A Tribute to Teachers by Abbas Kiarostami.
Sunday – January 19
- Eaton is hosting a full day of jazz and activism as a part of the fifth annual Jazz and Freedom Festival. There is a $20 suggested donation (which benefits ICE Out of DC), but it’s a give what you can model.
- Want more music? Check out Riley Moore and Jack Dunlap at Songbyrd.
- Stop by the National Museum of Asian Art for a gallery talk about the excellent exhibition My Iran: Six Women Photographers. Don’t miss out on this.
- Sit down for a double feature of Over and The Foreigner’s Home at National Gallery of Art.
- Finish your weekend with a free 80’s (enclosed) rooftop dance party at DC9.
